In a new Kerrang cover story, Billie Joe discusses fame, inspiration, mental health and more.

[quote]Young man’s brain, old man’s heart. I don’t know why, I just think of the song I’m Eighteen by Alice Cooper. 'Baby’s brain and an old man’s heart.’ That line always resonated with me. That ‘I’m not a boy and I’m not a man’ thing.[/quote]



The full interview can be read on Kerrang's website.

[quote]I feel like I started going through a mid-life crisis when I was 20 (laughs), because I didn’t think I was gonna live that long! It’s something that’s always been in my head. Whether it’s people dealing with PTSD or… like, everybody’s got a part of their brain that is neurotic, or maybe even paranoid, or bi-polar, or they have a personality disorder. The punk rock scene, for me, was a scene of all these people with personality disorders coming together a lot of the time. And I didn’t really realise that until later on. If you’re into punk and hard rock, it kinda mellows people out. In a way, it’s the antidote for really troubled people. And I think that maybe Green Day is kind of the same way: I sing about a lot of anguish and despair – but I try to do it in a funny way. And I think that’s maybe what’s relatable about it… I don’t know. It’s just being real.[/quote]

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